Judge Threatening to Exclude Hans Reiser From His Murder Trial

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Judge Threatening to Exclude Hans Reiser From His Murder Trial

OAKLAND, California – The Hans Reiser murder trial picked up Wednesday where it left off the day before, with a back-and-forth dialogue between the judge and defendant.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman threatened the defendant that if he did not quit interrupting his lawyer during the trial, he would be excluded from the proceedings.

"If this continues to get worse, I will simply remove you from this courtroom," Goodman told Reiser, the developer of Linux, open-source file systems who is accused of killing his wife, Nina Reiser.

The defendant often interrupts his main attorney, William DuBois, while witnesses are on the stand, prompting his lawyer to repeatedly ask the court stenographer to read back questions or answers.

"I'm not sure whether you're doing this on purpose to screw up the process or it's just part of your nature," the judge said outside the presence of the jury.

"I'm tired of you disrupting the courtroom," Goodman added.

When court adjourned Tuesday evening, the judge told the defendant he was "absurd" for considering firing his two attorneys. The defendant had pointed at the judge, who scoffed at him to never do that again.

On Wednesday, Reiser's response to the judge's morning comments were inaudible. He was not speaking in the microphone.

"Mr. Reiser, I'm sitting up here watching you the whole time," the judge responded. "I know what you're saying is not true."

Presumably, the defendant is unpappy DuBois is not engaging him while witnesses are on the stand.

"He's waving at you to keep quiet," the judge said.

Reiser, 44, has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed without bail. His 31-year-old wife, Nina Reiser, was last seen Sept. 3, 2006, when she dropped off the divorcing couple's two young children to stay with their father at his Oakland hills house during the Labor Day weekend.

The defendant claims his wife left the country and returned to Russia, where the pair met, and abandoned her two children, a girl now 6 and a boy now 8.

The jury is coming into the courtroom. The exchange between the judge and defendant lasted about 10 minutes.